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Retarding my starter

Retarding my starter

I fed one of my starters today for a loaf I plan to bake tomorrow morning. The last feed brought my starter up to the amount I need for the recipe.

Question: It is 'almost' ripe now as I started the last build this afternoon. It has almost doubled in it's little jar. What I am wondering is if I can put it into the refrigerator at this point where I assume it will continue to ripen but at a slower rate and then tomorrow morning, a couple of hours before I add it to the rest of the ingredients, I simply take it out of the refrigerator and let it warm up a bit.

Or do I let it finish ripening where it is and then pop it into the refrigerator for the night followed by taking it out in the morning and letting it warm up a bit before using it....

I've had a similar situation happen to me. I used a spatula to stir the starter down and placed it on a table in my basement where the temperature was about 62F. I got a good night's sleep and probably nine hours after I stirred down, my starter was ready to break out of the container, ready to go to work.

As long as your starter hasn't peaked, you should be able to place it in the fridge and bring it back to room temp. I've done something quite like that as well with good results. My experience with cool room temp due to winter conditions has produced better results for me. YMMV.

I ended up putting my dough into the refrig. shortly after I wrote my question as nobody had responded and I didn't want it to ripen all the way and leave it unattended all night.

When I got your suggestion later in the evening I took it out of the refrig. and degassed it and let it sit out overnight. ROom temp about 60°. It ripened and is now ready to use. I shall see how it works and will remember your suggestion for next time.

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